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The Democratic National Convention, which begins in Philadelphia on Monday, will inevitably be duller than the Republican convention. Which suits Hillary Clinton just fine.

Goodbye Scott Baio. Hello Obscure Congressman From Ohio. After the chaos at the Republican festivities in Cleveland, Clinton and her A-team — husband Bill, President Barack Obama, new endorser Bernie Sanders — will use their four-day bash to make the case that they are the country’s serious, sober adults.

A spectator’s guide to the festivities:

Schedule

Monday: The big speakers: First Lady Michelle Obama, Vermont senator and unsuccessful Clinton opponent Bernie Sanders, and a “DREAMer,” an undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child.

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The official theme: “United Together,” or “how we’re stronger together when we build an economy that works for everyone.”

The official theme: “A Lifetime of Fighting for Children and Families,” a recap of Hillary Clinton’s career.

Wednesday

It's hoped U.S. President Barack Obama's speech will help get some of Bernie Sanders's supporters on board. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press File Photo)

The big speakers: President Barack Obama as well as Vice-President Joe Biden.

The official theme: “Working Together,” or “how Hillary has the experience and steadiness to bring people together to tackle the big challenges.”

Thursday

The big speakers: Hillary Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton.

The official theme: “Stronger Together,” or Clinton’s “vision for the country.”

Star power

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ gun control group will be putting on a concert featuring "Star Trek" actor George Takei. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press File Photo)

Behold, glamour! As usual, the Democrats have managed to attract a bunch more celeb wattage than the Republicans did. Because nobody brings a party together like Snoop Dogg, the rapper will headline a convention “Unity Party.” Lady Gaga is performing for delegates with Lenny Kravitz — and former Will Smith duo-mate DJ Jazzy Jeff, for some reason — just across the river from Philly in Camden, N.J. Cyndi Lauper and Idina Menzel will sing at a congressional women’s luncheon.

Beloved Star Trek actor George Takei is appearing at a concert put on by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ gun control group. Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston is the special guest at a private lunch honouring Clinton. And Clinton’s team has been trying to woo some of her other famous fans, like pop stars Beyonce and Katy Perry.

The sideshow

Lady Gaga will be performing for delegates at the convention — just one of a number of celebrities who will be making an appearance. (Michael Conroy/Associated Press File Photo)

The rich and important get lavish lobbyist-hosted parties and free Lady Gaga. The plebes get to pay $15 to enter PoliticalFest, “a one-of-a-kind festival celebrating political history.”

It does sound kind of cool: there will be a replica of the Oval Office, a display of dresses worn by first ladies, interviews with actors who have played presidents on screen. Visitors can wash down all their new knowledge with grub from Philly Feast, a food truck festival, or continue wandering around town to see the donkeys — 57 fibreglass donkeys, “each painted by a local artist to represent a participating convention delegation.”

Security

Openly concerned about potential violence, Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson plans to personally inspect the security precautions. The Secret Service is in charge.

Expect Donald Trump to join right-wing blogs in noting that the Democrats will be protected by a wall (sort of): the Wells Fargo Center will be surrounded by “no-scale” fencing 1.5 metres high.

All in all, Philly residents are getting off easy: the convention security zone is far smaller than the one Cleveland created for the Republican convention, and far smaller than the giant no-go zone Pope Francis required when he showed up in town last year.

Protesters will get to scream and holler in a park right across the street, and the city council recently voted to let police issue $100 fines to disorderly protesters rather than charging them with crimes.

Protests

Real fact: die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters are planning to protest Hillary Clinton by feeding beans to Sanders delegates so they can fart in the convention hall. (“Baked beans likely will be preferred and paired with hot dogs,” U.S. News and World Report reports.)

Less smelly Sanders fans have scheduled a series of marches and demonstrations, though it’s not clear how much Sanders’s own endorsement of Clinton will dampen turnout.

Black Lives Matter protesters will make themselves heard, choosing to skip the hopeless Trumpapalooza in favour of a convention where they might be heard.

“Shut Down the DNC,” a left-wing protest event intended to “smash capitalism and racism,” is scheduled for Tuesday.

Also to be present: anti-nuclear-weapons activists Global Zero, the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, Food and Water Watch.

The Bernie factor

Bernie Sanders has endorsed Clinton, but his supporters are set to show up to protest at the convention. (Craig Ruttle/Associated Press File Photo)

Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton earlier this month, sure, but his speech was more perfunctory than persuasive, and some significant chunk of his supporters — maybe 20 per cent — remains unwilling to support her.

He will no doubt use his convention speech to rail as usual against “the millionaires and the billionaires” and push his dearest causes. Will he also make a heartfelt request for his die-hards to choose Clinton over Green candidate Jill Stein or none-of-the-above?

Michelle Obama, a powerful speaker who thrilled the 2012 convention with a paean to her husband, will try to recapture the magic while talking about someone else. Barack Obama will testify to Clinton’s character while savaging Donald Trump and attempting to woo the Sanders supporters who like him a lot better than Clinton.

Chelsea Clinton will try to soften her mother’s hard image. Bill Clinton will — well, who knows what Bill will do, but it’ll be entertaining. He spoke for 48 minutes at the last convention, and he wasn’t even talking about his wife that time.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s speech will be critical: Sanders devotees also admire her, and she can help lead them over to Clinton. The former Harvard professor has also proven especially excellent at insulting Trump.

The “mothers of the movement” could upstage some of the politicians. Clinton has forged personal relationships with the moms of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and other African-Americans who died high-profile deaths at the hands of the police. They will offer an important glimpse of the behind-the-scenes Clinton that friends of hers insist everyone would love if they could know.

Hillary Clinton with husband and former president Bill Clinton, who is set to speak at the convention on Tuesday. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Key players not on stage

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz: The polarizing party chairwoman will try to stay out of the way and not anger anybody.

Robby Mook: Clinton’s 36-year-old campaign manager is in charge of the whole shebang.

Donald Trump: For Trump, the other party’s convention theoretically means a whole week out of the spotlight. That will be hard for him. How will he try to grab it back?

The host city: Philadelphia, one of the two parties’ favourite convention sites, is popular more for its thematic resonance (hello, Liberty Bell) than its presidential importance. (The Democrats have carried Pennsylvania in every election since 1992.)

This year, though, Clinton might actually have work to do. She angered Coal Country by excitedly promising to put coal miners out of work, and Trump’s anti-trade, in-your-face style has excited a lot of the working stiffs who have traditionally joined their union leaders in backing Democrats.

Clinton, as she’ll surely remind us, has family roots in the city of Scranton, where Trump has made inroads. But the key to retaining the state is closer to the convention site: the slightly right-leaning Philly suburbs, where polls suggest she has built a big lead.

It's hoped U.S. President Barack Obama's speech will help get some of Bernie Sanders's supporters on board. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press File Photo)

Good news for Clinton if…

She leaves town with voters thinking a little more charitably about her.

Four years ago, allies of Republican nominee Mitt Romney attempted to use the convention to make him seem a little less of a robopol. Clinton, a similarly guarded figure who is widely seen as dishonest, could use some of the same treatment.

It will be harder to change the image of a 25-year national figure in four nights, but it would help a lot if she could convince an additional tenth of the population that she is something other than a devious self-dealer.

Bad news for Clinton if…

She comes off as phony and stiff.

Clinton excels when she has to think on her feet, in debate or under Republican cross-examination. When she’s scripted, she can seem awkward, overly practiced and insincere.

A poor Big Speech speaker when compared to virtually any top-tier American candidate, she will take the stage in Philadelphia after the country hears in prime time from two masters, Obama and Bill Clinton, and a bunch of others who are really good.

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